SURGING INTEL DOUBLES PROFIT.Byline: Catalina Ortiz Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Intel Corp., riding high on the expansion of the Internet and growing demand for personal computers overseas, reported Tuesday that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 1996, exceeding expectations. The world's largest maker of computer chips also proposed a stock split for shareholders and $1,000 ``thank-you'' bonuses for each of its employees. But the company's shares fell in after-hours trading after-hours trading The trading of securities after the exchanges are closed. After-hours trading often refers to trading a listed security in the over-the-counter market after the exchanges have been closed for the day. on its warning that it expects revenue in the current quarter to be little changed from the fourth quarter and that profit margins will either hold steady or slip. Intel said it earned $1.9 billion, or $2.13 a share, for the October-December quarter, compared with $867 million, or 98 cents a share, in the same 1995 period. Revenue jumped 41 percent to $6.4 billion, from $4.6 billion as Intel enjoyed record shipments of its Pentium and Pentium Pro The sixth generation of the Intel x86 family of CPU chips. The term may refer to the chip or to a PC that uses it. Introduced in 1995 as the successor to the Pentium, models from 150 MHz to 200 MHz were released. microprocessors. The company also reported record annual profit and sales for the seventh year in a row. ``Intel hit on all cylinders in 1996, the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the microprocessor,'' said Chief Executive Officer Andrew S. Grove. He credited the popularity of the Internet, growth in PC sales in Asia, businesses' buying new computers and Intel's own ability to turn out chips even while upgrading its factories. Industry observers had expected a strong report from Intel, but the company outperformed predictions. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research Zacks Investment Research A firm that compiles earnings estimates and brokerage firm investment recommendations for thousands of publicly traded firms. had predicted on average earnings of $1.79 a share for the quarter. ``I think it all comes down to really leverage - manufacturing leverage. . . . They're cranking,'' said Robert Chaplinski, an analyst with Hambrecht & Quist in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . Intel, based in Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif., reported earnings after the stock market closed. The company's shares closed at $147.12-1/2 a share, up 25 cents, on the Nasdaq Stock Market Nasdaq stock market The first electronic stock market listing over 5000 companies. The Nasdaq stock market comprises two separate markets, namely the Nasdaq National Market, which trades large, active securities and the Nasdaq Smallcap Market that trades emerging growth companies. . Intel on Tuesday also announced plans for a stock split, if shareholders agree at the annual meeting May 21. |
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